Kisses and Cream
by Jet.Black.Stars
Summary: Rose and the Doctor are having time off from saving the world, and visiting Wimbledon for the Tennis, when Rose is accosted by a stranger. What's going on, and who is this mysterious teenager who's just ruined their trip? TenRose. Please R&R! UPDATED.
1. A Thirst for Love

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rose or the Doctor. Or the TARDIS. I do own the bottles of water and the young man. _

_A/N: Hoping that this will be a continuing story. I've got lots of ideas for this 'un! I'd like to see how it goes down first though, although I'm not sure I can resist...I'm pretty sure there'll be another chapter up tonight. Not angsty at all, this one...well, I guess there might be a little, but set before Doomsday. Not quite sure where this fits in, but...around Fear Her, perhaps after The Satan Pit – that sort of time._

_Dedication: Dedicated to Alex and Nancy, my friends and gossip pals!_

Kisses and Cream

A Thirst for Love

"That," grinned Rose, as she and the Doctor made their way out of the tennis courts at Wimbledon, "was great!"

"Was, wasn't it?" he replied, and draped his arm casually around Rose's shoulders, trying to make it seem as if the action didn't matter, and was simply a way of steering his Assistant through the crowds.

Rose's smile grew even broader as a warm, fuzzy feeling made its way through her, and her own arm snaked around the Doctor's lower back to come to rest on his hip. He was a skinny thing, she thought, but she liked him that way. Neither of the incarnations of the Doctor that she'd seen had been on the large side, but the current Doctor was simply a bag of bones, as she was constantly reminding him. That didn't mean, however, that she didn't find him attractive – on the contrary, every time she looked at the man she found herself growing hot.

It had been worse lately. The Doctor had taken her to more "normal" places – if that word could even be used around the TARDIS, like the current New York, Paris in a hundred years' time, Rome two thousand years ago, Athens around the same time, and now Wimbledon to see the Tennis. He'd even offered grudgingly to pick up Jackie on the way, but Rose had hurriedly convinced him to fly on, telling him that her mother didn't like crowded places and pushing the guilt she felt to the back of her mind.

It hadn't lasted long though. Rose's conscience, for once, had lost the battle, and as they were sitting in the stands watching one of the matches, Rose had stolen a glance at the Doctor, to find that he wasn't watching the Tennis at all, but had his eyes firmly fixed on her face. He had grinned, embarrassed, and turned back to watching the game, and Rose had shifted herself ever so slightly so that she was a little closer to him.

"God, I'm thirsty," Rose complained as they neared the gates and passed a stand selling newspapers and bottles of water.

"Your wish is my command," the Doctor replied and, fishing in his pocket, drew out a handful of change and nodded at Rose. "You stay here, I'll get us some drinks."

The Doctor hadn't been gone long when Rose noticed a presence behind her, and turned to find a young man leaning casually against the railings, looking at her with a cheeky expression. "What do you want?" she asked rather rudely, and he simply raised an eyebrow and made his way towards her.

Over at the water stand, the Doctor had finished buying the water and had turned back towards Rose, when he noticed that she seemed to be engaged in a conversation with a young man. Assuming that Rose knew this stranger, he decided to approach with caution, rather than just barge in and interrupt as usual.

Rose, however, had no idea who the guy was, and he wasn't the one doing the talking. He hadn't said a word, just winked at her and carried on approaching while she fired questions at him, demanding to know who he was and what he was doing. Of course, she wouldn't have done this on a normal day – but there was something strange about the young man. He didn't seem quite...real. He seemed familiar, but then again, she had no idea who he was, and, although he was drawing closer, he didn't appear to have any...Rose couldn't describe it. She could see him, but she couldn't feel him – there was simply a draught that had suddenly whipped up and was tugging at her hair. He continued to walk towards her, smiling, and, unnerved, Rose began to turn her head to look for the Doctor.

It was then that the man suddenly reached out, grabbed her head and pulled her towards him. Their lips met and the teenager gave her a passionate kiss – or what looked like one – although Rose couldn't feel him. There was a slight tickling sensation where his hands appeared to be gripping his cheeks, and her lips were tingling, even burning slightly, but she couldn't quite get to grips with what was happening. This man – although good looking, a complete stranger - had just kissed her, completely out of the blue! She couldn't have been more surprised – and also rather angry.

The Doctor, however, could be – and was. His cheeks reddened with embarrassment and rage. How dare Rose do this to him? How could she just...lead him on like that, lead him into believing that she enjoyed his company and maybe, maybe even liked him? He'd been flirting with her, certainly, but she'd been returning the gesture – she'd led him to believe that there was something between them! And now, there she was, standing and kissing somebody, just _kissing _him, in the middle of the exit!

Rose pulled away from the man, finally breaking the link between them. Her face and lips burned with humiliation, and she would have slapped the man, had he not winked at her once again and made his way out of the grounds at Wimbledon. Turning, she saw the Doctor glaring at her, and started to make her way towards him.

"Doctor," she panted when she drew close, "that's not...it wasn't...it's not what it seemed!"

"Spare me the details," he snarled, cutting her off with a raised hand. He threw her a bottle of water before turning on his heel and heading towards the TARDIS without another word.

"Doctor?" said Rose, tentatively, but he did not reply. Unscrewing the lid of her drink, Rose took a small sip and, tears gathering in her eyes, followed the Doctor back into the TARDIS.


	2. Consequences

_Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own anything. I own nothing, know nothing and love the Doctor._

_Replies:_

_Hanging.by.a.moment: He was, wasn't he? Although totally hot, of course. :D. You'll find out more later._

_Sepik: I'm glad. I'll try and keep it that way._

_Lariel: I will! And I am! I'm having fun being rather cruel like this! _

_Alexia: My poor Doctor, how could I be so cruel? Still...keep reading!_

_Miko: You thought you saw the Doctor's rage there? Ohhh no. :D. The good thing about Ten is that he's just like me. Hyper and happy one moment, and then...BANG! Temper gone. Control lost. All people watch out. Comes from being a redhead. Dang, the Doctor should have been ginger! Ooh, trying to think of theories, eh? I'd like to hear those! But I am updating now...although the story of the man isn't progressing in this chapter. A little later on though, all will be revealed._

_Scissors: Eep! I've hurried! Enjoy!_

_A/N: Ooh, I forgot that I promised another chapter. I've been feeling rather sorry for myself this evening, to be honest, but this has cheered me up. A nice love/hate scene to get stuck right in there with! It's 1 in the morning here now, so I promise, there will be more! But a bit later – I need sleep!_

_Dedication: This one's dedicated to my cousin, the "rat in the sewer". _

Kisses and Cream

Consequences

"Doctor, can I help?"

The Doctor ignored Rose's plea and turned away from her to fiddle with yet another of the controls. He had convinced himself that he was checking the TARDIS for breaks or problems in her system, but he knew that what he was doing was blocking everything out, trying to forget what he had seen and forget about his problems. His hand shook as he reached out to check the Time Rotor, and he steadied himself by leaning against the console and placing the back of his hand against the glowing Rotor to check the temperature.

Rose was beside herself with hurt and worry. It wasn't her fault – she couldn't understand why the Doctor wouldn't listen to her, and he wouldn't speak to her either. She'd tried explaining, but he'd cut her off with a hand movement or by pointedly looking in the other direction. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at him now, his expression hard and his eyes avoiding hers at any point they could. She could have sworn she'd seen love in them earlier, but they were now harsh and cold, and the way they brushed past her was cruel and unloving. She couldn't understand the change in him, and she couldn't accept the thought that was niggling at the back of her mind – that perhaps she had lost her Doctor forever.

"Doctor?" she tried again, tentatively. "If you'd just let me explain..."

"No," the Doctor replied, turning to look at her full in the eyes and slamming his fist down on the controls of the TARDIS. "I know what I saw. You know what I saw. There's no point in making up lies about it, Rose Tyler. You're a cheat, that's what you are. Fine. Get off with other men, see if I care. Sleep around. Just don't do it when you're my guest."

"Sleep around?" Rose gasped. "Is that what you think of me? Do you think so little of me that you presume I do that? And, for the last time, I am _not _lying!"

"You expect me to believe that a stranger just came up and _snogged _you in the middle of the street?" The Doctor was angry now, although his voice shook slightly with hurt and the pain of what he was feeling. "Not only do you take advantage of my hospitality and then throw it back in my face, you then _lie _to me about what happened!"

"I am NOT lying!" Rose shouted, tears spilling over her cheeks. "He came up to me! He just kissed me!"

"Yes, of course, that's why you were having a nice little conversation before, wasn't it?" the Doctor spat, his words full of venom.

"I wasn't having a conversation! I was asking him questions – things seemed wrong. He was alien, he wasn't from here, I was interested."

"Ah, is that it? You enjoy stringing aliens along, just for the ride? Am I an _alien _then, Rose? Am I not _interesting_ enough for you? Do I need to come up to you and just _snog _you, like this?"

The Doctor was walking towards Rose, and all of a sudden he grabbed her face and made to kiss her. She couldn't let him though. She couldn't let him kiss her when things were like this. All of Rose's hopes and fantasies had been dashed, and the harsh way he was gripping her was wrong, hadn't been in any of her daydreams.

"NO!" she screamed, slapping him hard and ducking out of his range. "No! What are you doing?"

The Doctor seemed to come to his senses a little, but the way he looked at Rose showed her exactly what he thought of her right now. Rose's expression was much the same. She couldn't believe what he had just tried to do, and she knew what he thought of her.

The Doctor himself was having similar thoughts. He couldn't believe he'd just done that, and seeing the hurt clearly on her face made it all worse. In a split second, he had made up his mind. He couldn't do this to her...and she couldn't do this to him. Crossing the room, he fiddled with the controls and pressed down a button. The Time Rotor began to churn.

"Go and get your suitcase, Rose Tyler," he commanded, his eyes sparkling with tears. "You're going home."


	3. Don't Give Me Fair!

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

_Replies: _

_Sepik: People can be idiots when they're angry. ;)_

_Ali-Chan: You thought that was it, huh:P Now meet Doctor-anger. I wrote this when I was – and still am – furious with my family. So hopefully some of that'll come through in the writing. Aye, the Doctor could have been ginger, but...he's gorgeous how he is! _

_Alexia: I know! Poor thing. Well, wait to see what happens!_

_Scissors: I suppose – but that would have dashed all her daydreams of kissing him. And he wasn't really – or rather, isn't – in a very good state of mind, so probably would have ended in tears. _

_Brmn: Still a bit more to go...they're rather angry with each other at the moment!_

_Violet: Eep! Merci! Hope this continues with the interesting...ness..._

_Uglybug: Sorry, can't spare your nerves for now! Bit more nail biting to come!_

_A/N: I'm cross. Very cross. So this should come through. I'll write a bit more when I'm not so angry, and perhaps I'll be kinder on the poor Doctor and Rose._

_Dedication: Dedicated to Toby who, even though he sometimes irritates me, is just as irritated by me. _

Kisses and Cream

"Don't Give Me Fair"

"Home?" Rose asked the Doctor, unsure that she'd heard correctly.

"Yes, home. Home. You're going home, and you're not coming back. It's time I moved on. You've been here long enough, _mucking _things up and ruining my plans. I could do with a better assistant. You swan in here with Mickey the idiot and your mother rabbiting on at me, making mistakes and trying to change things that shouldn't be changed. You take advantage of my hospitality, lead me on to think you're actually bright and trustworthy, and then throw it all back at me. Well, guess what, Rose?" The Doctor had a manical smile on his face, and his eyes were wide and wild as he threw back his head and laughed. "I'm throwing it all back at you, isn't that nice? You're going home."

"Doctor, that's not...that's not fair!" Rose's lower lip trembled as she fought to control the lump which was rising in her throat. The ache in her heart was almost unbearable, and her head was spinning.

"Nothing's fair in this world, Rose. Such is life," the Doctor snarled. "Nothing's _fair_, you're not fair, I'm not fair, the whole bloody Universe isn't _fair_. Don't give me _fair_."

Rose was openly crying now, tears dripping down her face as she stood, looking small and vulnerable, in the middle of the room. The Doctor's words were washing over her as he shouted – she couldn't imagine it, life without him, without the TARDIS, without the worlds that they visited...couldn't imagine leaving him behind, his smiles, his bright ideas and fantastic stories of bravery and adventure. And now he was ordering her out, the one she'd hoped to be with forever, to never leave. Ordering her out and forcing her to go home.

"I won't!" she suddenly yelled back in the Doctor's face, startling him and causing him to take a step backwards. "I will not go back!"

"You jolly well will, Miss Tyler," the Doctor thundered, placing his face so close to Rose's that she instinctively drew away from him. He wasn't having it, though, and caught her wrist, bringing her back to him. "I'm telling you, you're going home. I'm taking you back to your miserable little planet and leaving you where you belong. You can have all the men you want, then. But you're not playing on my emotions, oh no."

"I was NOT playing on your emotions, Doctor!" Rose yelled back shrilly. "I _told _you, he just came up to me and..."

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the drivel. Now go and pack." The Doctor raised one arm and pointed towards the TARDIS door. "Or leave without your stuff."

With a sob, Rose turned on her heel and wrenched open the door of the TARDIS, and, with one final, desperate look back at the Doctor, she was gone.

The Doctor furiously wiped away a tear which was threatening to be followed by others, pressed down the main control button and turned the Time Wheel to set a date. The Time Rotor began to whirr, and the Doctor threw himself into his chair and fumed silently as the TARDIS took off.


	4. Rationality

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Doctor or Rose...DAMN IT!_

_A/N: Sorry for the long time between chapters, but I was away. However, I did write stuff while I was there, so here goes!_

Chapter Four

Rationality

The Doctor wasn't sure how long it took him to realise that he had been completely irrational and even rather unkind to poor Rose. He couldn't remember ever being that angry with his Companion before – and he knew for sure that it had shocked and upset her.

Everything seemed to have been going fairly well lately -Rose had seemed to be returning the Doctor's affections, the TARDIS had been working perfectly and their excursions had been enjoyable, but throughout it all, the Doctor had felt a growing sense of concern; of anxiety that things were not quite right. His mind had been uneasy, although he could not fathom why – a niggling feeling that things were almost _too_ perfect – that, before long, something was going to occur that would change everything. The Doctor's love for Rose had grown fiercely ever since they had contemplated never being able to return to the TARDIS when it had crashed to the bottom of the put occupied by the fearsome creature which the Doctor had finally confronted. He had avoided taking Rose home as he couldn't bear to share her with anyone else, and the two of them had formed a bond which the Doctor had never experienced before.

The Doctor understood that the feelings of concern and recent feelings of rage could be pinpointed to jealousy and fierce protectiveness over his companion. Throughout their journeys, the Doctor had been learning more and more about himself – and having to let go of Reinette, and Sarah-Jane Smith (for the second time), and K9 again, as well as others, had stirred such feelings of regret in his heart that he had realised that this version of himself could not just drop people, to just get rid of them: although, he realised, that was exactly what he had just done. That was what hurt the most about Rose's disloyalty – the feeling that all his thoughts and feelings towards her that he had thought were reciprocal were, in fact, not even valued by her. He was – although he would never have admitted it before – completely in love with her, and to have her just throw it all back at him...for what reason he did not know...

The Doctor raised a hand to his face as if to brush away some invisible thought that was niggling at his brain. Why hadn't he listened to her? Even his great mind couldn't answer that question. He had just felt anger – and hurt – and more anger to cover that hurt – and he hadn't wanted to hear it, hadn't wanted to hear her say that she didn't love him. But...now he could think more clearly, something, he realised, wasn't quite right.

Before he knew it, his hand was back on the Time Wheel. He spun it quickly, tapping in a date just a few days after he had left Rose. A part of him was still angry with her, and he wanted to at least scare her a little, show her how hurt he was by what she had done...

What she had done...again, there is was, that strange sensation at the back of his mind... that something just didn't quite fit – like a jigsaw which was missing a piece...

When the TARDIS finally juddered to a halt, the Doctor grabbed his coat, slung it over one arm and, taking a deep breath, stepped outside into a warm summer's evening on Earth.

_A/N: I have written another...but I may just leave it for now because I'm fairly busy at the moment...and because I reckon the chapters should continue one at a time. :) Sorry! I'll update soon with the next chapter._


	5. Fever

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I can cry and cry and wish and wish and scream and scream, but I won't own them. Although I expect I'll marry the Doctor...one day._

_A/N: So, after all the kind comments I received, I could hardly not update! Here, therefore, is the next part of the chapter! And...sorry about the cliffhanger!_

_Dedication: Dedicated to my wonderful arty sister._

Chapter Five

Fever

The Doctor had barely exited the TARDIS when Jackie Tyler came hurtling around the corner, looking rather haggard with smudged mascara and barely any other make-up, not to mention mismatched shoes – hardly her usual attire. There was no sign of Rose, although the Doctor had been prepared for this: he wasn't sure that she was going to be very eager to see him – and he was slightly worried that she'd refuse to talk to him at all.

As Jackie approached, the Doctor raised his arms instinctively to protect himself from the slap that he knew he was likely to receiver. However, as she neared him, the Doctor could see that her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and were sparkling with new tears, and there was a look of profound relieve on her tired-looking face.

"Oh, thank God you're here, Doctor, thank God!" she yelped, taking hold of his hand and attempting to pull the confused man around the corner to her flat.

"What is it? What's wrong?" the Doctor demanded quickly, following Jackie as fast as he could and, for some strange reason, reaching into his coat pocket for his sonic screwdriver. It had always been a source of comfort to him, and, as it now appeared that something was very wrong, he might need it – if not for emotional support, for using against a greater enemy.

"It's Rose – oh, Doctor, I don't know what happened between you two...but that doesn't matter now. My poor Rose is ill...she's very ill, she came through the door a few days ago and said that she felt sick – and then fainted right there on the doorstep...I didn't know what had happened...she woke up and said you weren't coming back – she was hysterical, but she wasn't making any sense...she's been talking nonsense these past few days and there's something very wrong –"

"Shh," the Doctor interrupted, stemming the constant flow of words that Jackie was throwing at him and silently cursing the fact that she never ran out of speech. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," he continued, although his voice shook slightly and his pace quickened all the same.

"Here she is," Jackie stated, stepping aside in the doorway so that the Doctor could enter Rose's bedroom. He ducked slightly in order to fit through the doorframe and, sidestepping a number of bags and papers which had gathered on the floor, took a good look at his Companion.

Rose was lying on the bed, asleep – although she could have been dead from the way she looked. The Doctor immediately hurried to her side and knelt down by the bed, taking her hand in his. She was hot, very hot – although her face was china-pale, save for her flushed cheeks, and her fair hair was unbrushed and sticking to her face. She was breathing shallowly, and every so often she would emit a small sound halfway between a sob and a moan, turning her head this way and that as if trying to escape a particularly horrific view. Her eyelids were fluttering slightly, as if she was looking around desperately in her dream – or rather, nightmare.

"Jackie, do you have a thermometer?" the Doctor asked, and Rose's mother nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.

Alone with Rose, the Doctor murmured a sincere apology for his previous behaviour – more to comfort himself, as he doubted that she would be able to hear him through her fever-ridden dreams, and placed his hand against her burning cheek.

A second later, he drew his long fingers away sharply, as if something had stung him. Frowning, he tried again, and then again when he found he was experiencing the same sensation each time – a feeling of immense distance and even longing – that other-worldly feeling that came from such far reaches of the Universe that the Doctor himself had never travelled there. There was also a sharp twist of the unknown within the feeling, which frightened the Doctor far more than Rose's appearance or that other-worldly sense.

Jackie reappeared in the doorway, her eyes echoing the concern which the Doctor felt. "Is she alright?" she asked worriedly. "It's just a bug or something, right?"

The Doctor tried to look cheerful, but failed miserably. "Jackie...I...I don't know. In all honesty, I don't know if this is just something she picked up from somewhere or...I don't know anything about it, except for the fact that it does seem rather serious."

His chocolate-brown eyes were glum and had lost their usual sparkle, Jackie noticed, and his voice sounded grave and had lost its commanding tone. She clutched at his arm, looking up at him, seeking his support. "What can you do for her?" she asked in a choked whisper.

"I need to get her to the TARDIS...I can examine her there with the right equipment," he replied. "And we'll see what happens from there."


	6. Saying Goodbye

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I got owned. :P_

_A/N: Sorry, it's been a while, I know. My computer crashed and I lost all my data…plus two novels I've been writing over the past couple of years. I was going to back 'em up last week but it crashed in the morning…I was rather irritated, to say the least! Anyway, here's the next instalment!_

_Dedication: Dedicated to Katie, my musical pal!_

Chapter Six

A Fairytale?

The Doctor placed the stethoscope in his ears and listened carefully to the dull thud which reached them. It was regular – mostly – although every so often there'd be a tiny flutter and the rhythm would miss a beat, like a drum kit with a broken cymbal. That couldn't be good.

Rose murmured a little and attempted to turn her head, but her body was weak and she failed to do so. A sigh escaped the Doctor's lips and he leant back on the table behind him, massaging his temple with long fingers while considering what to do next.

He'd left Jackie behind in her living room, nursing a cup of tea between shaky hands, while he'd inspected Rose with just about every bit of equipment that he could find. He hadn't found any cause for her illness, but he knew from the results that she was dangerously sick.

Shaking his head, he took a last glance at Rose and left the room.

"…So I don't know, is the answer. I really don't know what's wrong with her. I've looked her over, tested her for everything…"

"Everything?" Jackie asked tearfully, staring hard into the Doctor's face.

"Everything," he confirmed, taking a sip from his cold cup of coffee.

"Even…she wouldn't be pregnant or something?" came Jackie's hesitant voice, and the Doctor's grip on his coffee tightened.

"No. There'd be no reason for her to…I mean, we…what I mean to say is…she's not pregnant," he finished up rather lamely, guiltily wondering whether she may have ended up pregnant if things hadn't taken a sharp turn for the worse.

"So there's nothing you can do?"

"I'll keep trying, Jackie, I really will. It's just…in the meantime, I think you'd better say goodbye."

It had been two hours since Jackie had left the TARDIS, sobbing. Rose was hooked up to all kinds of machines while the Doctor attempted to regulate her breathing and heartbeat, and keep her temperature down. However, her condition was worsening, and everything seemed to be going wrong. She was shaking violently, and moaning more frequently, but by now, she'd grown so weak that she could hardly move.

The Doctor was deeply troubled by this, as well as confused. He couldn't understand how she'd become like this in only a few days…it had only been a few hours since their argument before Rose left, and the Doctor had come to collect her a few days after that. What could have gone so wrong in that time?

A coloured red light indicated to the Doctor that something was extremely wrong, and he sprang to his feet and attempted to find the source of the light. The machine was the one which was regulating her breathing, and the Doctor could see that Rose was wheezing and having trouble drawing breath.

He couldn't see a way to fix it. The Doctor had always been able to fix everything, with the help of the TARDIS of course, but he couldn't fix this simple illness. The TARDIS seemed to have abandoned him as well – the Medical Wing was ice-cold, and there was no familiar hum of the ship as her engines rumbled in the background.

Blinking furious tears out of his eyes, the Doctor knew that it was time to say goodbye to Rose. There was nothing he could do. Leaning over her, he pushed back the hair on her forehead and pressed his lips to hers, savouring the moment, before drawing back to look at his companion.

Rose's eyes snapped open.


	7. A Certain Improvement

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rose or the Doctor, but I steals him for fun_

_A/N: I'm deeply sorry; it must have been...what, a full year? Two years, almost? Well, since I got an email saying I'd had a recent review for one of my other fics, I thought I might as well update this one if you lot haven't all given up on me P. Hope I still have a few faithful readers yet even though I probably don't deserve them. So - here it is, the latest update which doesn't tell you much but at least gives you some hope that I will actually get back to the story at some point. Great that I re-start this before my exams, huh? _

_Rae x_

A Certain Improvement

_Dedicated to my two best friends without whom I would not 'be'; Kate and Andy._

It was only for a moment, and the heavy lids had drooped again almost as soon as they'd opened - but it was enough. The Doctor wiped his eyes furiously with the back of his hand and slipped one gently under Rose's head, propping her up slightly in an attempt to make her task of breathing easier. The red light flickered for a moment before turning yellow; a sign that things were improving, at least for the time being. A quick check of her temperature revealed that Rose was no cooler - if anything, the fever appeared to have returned and her blonde hair was damp with sweat and sticking to her face, but her pallor had been replaced by the expected flush of a patient with a high temperature.

The Doctor sighed and turned to his left, grimacing as he rummaged through a pile of equipment, drawing out a syringe and thin needle and holding it up to the light to check that it was in good condition. After ripping off the sterile plastic and feeling for a vein, he leant forwards over Rose and inserted the needle into her arm, drawing it out a minute later full of a dark red, glistening liquid. Checking that Rose was able to breathe, he turned and crossed the room, inserting the small vial of blood into a machine that immediately whirred into action and accepted the fluid, bleeping rapidly and flashing coloured lights at the Doctor.

There was a heavy sigh from behind him and he returned quickly to Rose's side, pulling up a chair and leaning with his elbows on the side of the mattress to look at her. It had always occurred to him that she was pretty, but now he saw something else - a tenderness in her appearance which did not always come across with her usual hard, rather brusque exterior and her affinity for teasing him cruelly (not that he didn't return the favour). She looked younger and more helpless than he had ever seen her, and something tugged at his hearts, causing him to reach out a large hand and grasp her small one. Her fingers flexed slightly in her palm and he turned his attention once again to her face, where her eyelids were fluttering and once again beginning to open.

"Rose? Rose, can you hear me?" There was a note of desperation in his voice as he willed her to look at him; to return to his world and reassure him that she was still with him.

Her eyes opened, but she said nothing. There was only a flicker of recognition, but no smile; nothing to suggest that she knew who the man sitting by her side was or why he was there.

"Rose, my darling Rose, can you speak? Do you know who I am?"

She turned her head a fraction towards him and blinked once, acknowledging his voice but not replying.

"Rose...can you hear me, Rose?"

Rose suddenly sat bolt upright, almost ripping the drip out of her arm, turned towards the Doctor and then quickly looked past him with a strange dreamy expression. The Doctor once again had that strange sense of distance and of alienation before he was aware that Rose had vomited noisily over the side of the bed.

He managed to catch her before she toppled out of the bed in a dead faint.


	8. Reunited

_Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. But I want the Doctor._

_Dedication: To Kate, the true friend in all of this mess._

Reunited

This was not exactly what the Doctor had imagined as the perfect reunion. He'd managed to get his feet out of the way just in time, but there was a large and rather rancid puddle on the floor of the TARDIS, and Rose was flopped against him, her hair over her face and her shirt sticking to her. He was going to have to do something about that before he spoke to her – he doubted that she'd be incredibly pleased to find that parts of her t-shirt had turned see-through with sweat from the fever, especially if he were in the room. Leaning over his young companion, he slid both arms under her and carried her out of the room. He'd deal with the mess later.

Walking down one of the many corridors, the Doctor was struck with the sudden horror at the fact that he was either going to have to undress her or sit and watch whilst she did it herself. It was not going to be an easy job for either of them, but he would have to try – although he couldn't leave her alone in the bath in case she decided to drown on him. He could feel her beginning to come round and stiffen slightly as she felt his arms around him, and quickened his pace, turning left and kicking open a door with his foot.

Rose came round properly as they entered the bathroom. She still looked a little wild-eyed and delirious, but she had cooled down somewhat and had gathered herself enough to recognise her surroundings. Looking down at herself, she flushed with shame at the fact that she hardly looked decent, but catching sight of a quick, nervous smile from the Doctor, she was encouraged. He handed her a towel and turned to fill the bath, and she quickly struggled out of her shirt and wrapped the towel around her. She was pleased to see him filling the bathtub with bubbles, presumably to protect her dignity, and felt a rush of warmth towards him.

Neither of them spoke until Rose was safely in the bath with the bubbles covering her for modesty. The Doctor was finding this process rather difficult – his eyes were drawn to the bubbles covering her body, almost willing them to move, and he had to keep dragging them up to her face to ensure that she was all right. She looked incredibly serene, sitting there with her eyes closed and a hint of colour in her cheeks, her lips pouted slightly as if in thought, and he found himself feeling calmer. There was a cup by the sink, and he filled it with lukewarm water and put his hand over his charge's forehead, tipping it gently over her hair. He did this several times, filling and refilling the cup, until he'd given her hair a wash and it hung damply around her face, drying very slowly and looking quite pretty as it fluffed into place. Rose was growing more aware of her surroundings and was beginning to find the strength to speak again.

"Doctor? What happened?"

The Doctor licked his lips. What could he say? _We argued, I left you, you got ill and then nearly threw up on my shoes. _He wasn't sure that'd go down too well. "We're in the TARDIS, Rose. You're not well – you're going to need lots of rest. How do you feel?"

Rose shrugged. "Not great. A bit sort of…weird, I suppose. Like…not very…here."

The Doctor frowned, puzzled, and took another look at his companion. Again, he felt that strange sense of distance and flinched, unable to understand the source. "Did you eat anything weird?"

"No, I haven't eaten anything for a while. Just that water you gave me."

Ah. So she remembered. The Doctor placed the cup on the side of the bath and frowned, deep in thought, but it was in vain. "We'll just have to keep an eye on you for a while. And you'll have to rest and do what I say. Not much travelling for the time being."

Rose nodded. "Sleepy. Can I go to bed?"

The Doctor frowned again, anxiously this time, and agreed. Holding the towel up for her, he wrapped it around her and held her close to him, unable to fathom why she felt so different. Almost as if some part of her had disappeared. "Come on. Let's get you to sleep."

Rose nodded again, almost zombie-like. The Doctor sighed worriedly and placed a hand on her shoulder, steering her out of the room. This was going to take some figuring out.


End file.
